WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, April 21, 2014 – Retired NFL placekicker, two-time Super Bowl Champion and former Baltimore Raven Matt Stover will offer a keynote address and receive an awardfor “Most Outstanding Service by a Professional Athlete” at The Jefferson Awards Salute to Service in Delaware on April 21st, 2014, from 11:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m., at The Hotel DuPont, Gold Ballroom, 11th & Market St., Wilmington, Delaware. The Jefferson Awards are America’s most prestigious honor for public service.
Former two-term Governor, nine-term U.S. Congressman, Lieutenant Governor, Deputy Attorney General and State Senator Mike Castlewill act as Master of Ceremonies. Award presenters include Honorary Co-Chair U.S. Senator Chris Coons, First Lady Carla Markell, and a number of prominent Delawareans from the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors.
The Jefferson Awards, founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft Jr., and Sam Beard, honor extraordinary individuals and companies whose profound achievements and commitment to their communities are making the world a better place to live.
Also to be honored at the gala, 16 year-old Emma Rider of Georgetown who will receive an award for Outstanding Service Benefiting Local Communities, Amy Benton of Christiana Care being selected for Outstanding Service by Employees in the Workplace, and the Charter School of Wilmington chosen as Winner for Outstanding Service in High Schools, amongst other awardees and finalists.
“This year’s Jefferson Awards Salute to Service in Delaware recipients have made real and lasting differences in the lives of people within the state and around the country and the world. Their successes are to be celebrated in order to inspire others to greatness,” says Jefferson Awards Executive Director Hillary Schafer. “Together, we are Building a Culture of Service.”
Stover receives a Jefferson Award for his work as co-founder, along with his high school sweetheart and wife Debra, of the Matt Stover Foundation, which was formed in 2002 and is dedicated to improving the Baltimore community and helping those in need through a variety of programs, outreach and support. Additionally, Stover serves on the National Board for the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) and the McDonogh School Board.
Stover is also currently Vice President and Co-Founder of the Players’ Philanthropy Fund (PPF), a donor advised fund to facilitate charitable giving for professional athletes. A firm believer in philanthropy and giving back to the community, Stover co-founded PPF to continue to make philanthropy a part of the next chapter of his life off the field. Stover strives to assist professional athletes in becoming the philanthropic leaders that they can and should be in their communities.
Stover retired after the 2009 season as a Baltimore Raven and the NFL’s fourth all-time leading scorer. He is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and resides in Cockeysville, Maryland, with his wife Debra and their three children, Jenna, Jacob and Joe.
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For more information about the Jefferson Awards, visit www.jeffersonawards.org.